Unemployment in Spain posts lowest rise since '07

The number of registered unemployed people in Spain rose by 113,097 to 4.81 million in January, marking the lowest rise in the first month of a year since 2007, the Employment and Social Security Ministry said Tuesday.

The number of unemployed fell by 3,097 in January, compared to the previous month, with the number of jobless people falling for the sixth straight month.

The number of unemployed was down by 166,343 last month, compared to January 2013, the ministry said.

Service sector unemployment grew by 99,519 people, while 8,110 more agricultural workers were added to the jobless rolls.

The number of jobless people under the age of 25 grew by 16,503 last month.

The number of unemployed foreigners grew by 13,908 to 569,636, of whom 192,291 were from European Union member countries and 377,345 from non-EU nations.

The number of people registered with the Social Security System fell by 184,031 in January, compared to December, to 16.17 million.

Some 1.51 million foreign workers were registered with the Social Security System last month, down by 28,485 from the December level, the ministry said.

Spain climbed out of the recession in the third quarter of 2013, ending a streak of nine consecutive quarters of contraction. EFE